Pit Envy

Over the past 10 years I've owned quite a few different smokers and grills... Langs, Backwoods, Webers, Big Green Eggs. I've currently whittled things down to 1 BGE and 2 Backwoods Fatboys. Pretty optimal equipment for what I need. The BGE is renowned for it's versatility handling everything from pizza, to high temp steak searing, to slow and low. Ideal for cooking at home for my family. And the Backwoods are perfect when I need extra capacity cooking a contest or for a crowd of friends. Both are well insulated so I can use them 365 days a year in New England.

Practical right?

Well I'm itching for a new toy. I guess you could call it Pit Envy. I've had my eye on stick burners from both Horizon and Meadow Creek. I do like to play with fire. My charcoal cookers are so 'set it and it and forget it' I no longer have an excuse to hang out in the yard and tend to the cooker. And of course since the stick burner needs tending every hour I'll need to be equipped with a comfortable recliner and a cooler of cold beer.

So amongst all of the smokers I covet two stand out today. One is from the largest producer of charcoal grills - Weber. The other is more of an artisan producer - Pits by Jambo. Guess which one I can afford?

What both Manufacturers have recently announced is new availability. WSM groupies have been clamoring for a larger version of this cooker for years. There are also rumors of 26" charcoal grill as well. The new 22" WSM should be available by the end of the year and hopefully I'll see one under my Christmas Tree.

Jamie Geer of Pits by Jambo has built beautiful, custom, off-set trailer smokers for some of the top teams in the country including Smoking Triggers and Cool Smoke. Recently after a 3 year hiatus Jamie announced he is building pits again. I haven't figured out how to fund a purchase of one of these beauties yet, but I'm working on it!